I love saving money....

So a long time ago I reading online about real ways to save money. I stumbled on a website that gives you rebates on online purchases. It's beyond simple. You log in and look to see if your online store is there and you click on it and it gives you a rebate on your purchase. We've used it when we've booked hotels and earned 5% back. We've used it on business cards for Daniel and earned 10% back. The best part is every 3 months you get a big check for the total of the rebates. Simple. I love saving money.


Wanna check it out.....

http://tinyurl.com/29qwqzn

Life....moves....fast

Wow life just kinda moves fast. You blink and months have gone buy. We've been in the house now for about 9 months. It's seems strange to think about any time before the house. There are things I love about it( I love our lake) and things I hate( drywall problem, shower problem and HOA drama). Daniel and I were talking the other day that if we won the lotto we would stay here but pretty much redo the whole house. Put in hardwoods, new counters, put my cork flooring in the kitchen, etc.

Another big thing is that two really good friends are pregnant. I'm so happy for them. They are already great mommas. It's been hard on me a personal level since Daniel and I have started trying for children but it hasn't happened yet. At first we were going to wait two years but decided neither of us is getting any younger. It's kinda hard on me since I see others and it seems so easy for them but not for us. Just have to put our faith in the Lord that He has a plan for us. Maybe not biological children but adopted child like I was. Just hoping to over come the money hurdle with adoption.

In happy news Daniel and I have made plans for our 2nd anniversary trip. We're taking a cruise this year. It's a really nice Norwegian out of Miami. A 5 day trip to the Caymans and Cozumel. We're not going to be traveling on our anniversary just as a celebration of the anniversary. We got a really good deal and a free upgrade for their best balcony. We were going to try for a ocean view room but we love sitting out on our deck here at the house and looking at the lake...and what is an ocean if not a huge lake. lol.

We finally held our housewarming. We just had it for family mostly and a few friends. I want to plan another party that is more laid back. Looking forward to football season so I can have more football paries.

How would you do as a 1930's housewife?

For some reason I was thinking about the 30's and what it must have been like to live during that time. Dealing with the great depression and the dust bowl. I ended up stumbling on this in another blog. How would you rate as a 1930's housewife?

66 As a 1930s wife, I am Superior Take the test!

Oh and men there is a test to see how good of a 1930's husband you'd be.

101 Things I want to do before I die

This is my bucket list. All the things I'd like to do before I die. Some are silly, some are unrealistic, but all of them are things I'd to get around to doing before I die.

1. Be a mother
2. Go to Naples Italy
   
3. Skydive
4. Take a road trip to CA
5. Stay at Disney's Wilderness Lodge
6. Learn to play the piano
7. Learn Italian
8. Bake a cake from scratch
9. Go to Vegas
10. See Beatles Love
11. Attend a taping of the Martha Steward Show.
12. Go to a Sun's game
13. Do a mission's trip.
14. Learn to fly a plane
15. Knit a scarf
16. Learn First Aid and CPR(again)
17. Take Daniel to DC
18. Take a cruise (We have our first one planned for Nov)
    
19. Take a trip on a train
20. Dress up for a costume party
21. See the cherry blossoms in Japan
22. Sleep in a hammock
23. Go camping
24. Go snorkeling
25. Sit on a jury
26. Own a Louis Vuitton
27. Kiss the Blarney Stone
28. Take ballroom dancing lessons
29. Do fire walking
30. See the Northern Lights
31. See the Fjords of Norway
32. Go to the Pike Place Market in Seattle
33. Read the Bible cover to cover
34. Learn to let go of anger
35. Unplug the TV for a month
36. Dye my hair red
37. Take a vacation without a camera
38. Buy something nauseatingly extravagant
39. Go to a film premiere
40. Travel to Ireland
41. Renew my vows with Daniel on a beach just the two of us
42. Do a Polar Plunge
43. Visit the White House
44. Visit Buckingham Palace
45. Have a reason to wear a ball gown
46. Own a really good camera
47. Ride in a Limo
48. Ride the London Eye
49. Watch the sunrise at a beach
50. Watch the sunset at a beach
51. Achieve my ideal weight
52. Play a round of Golf
53. Take a social etiquette class
54. Fly First Class
55. Learn sign language
56. Take a trip with my Mom
57. Take a carriage ride in Central Park
58. Watch all 6 Star Wars movies back-to-back
59. Try and "In & Out" burger
60. Log 100 hours on the Wii Fit
61. Use a metal detector at the beach
62. Spend the day at a spa
63. Go canoeing
64. See Phantom of the Opera on Broadway
65. Drive a wickedly cool car
66. Take my parents to dinner
67. Play Poker at The Orange Park Poker Room
68. Wear a bikini in public
69. See the Taj Mahal
70. Receive flowers for no reason
71. Toured the UN
72. Rent the Hermes Vintage Crocodile Kelly Handbag
73. Attend at least one major sporting event: the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the U.S. Open.
    
74. Go back to college and graduate
75. Meet my half-brother
76. Live in New Orleans
77. Be on Jeopardy
78. Have over 1,000 entries on my blog
79. Forgive
80. Be admired by at least someone other than Daniel
81. Paint more
82. Sell one of my paintings
83. Meet either of the two remaining Beatles
84. Stop drinking soda
85. Go on a full-blown Shopping Spree at a Mall
86. Finish my year in photo's
87. Raise my children as my mother did me.
88. Buy a "little black dress"
89. Have a beach bonfire
90. Score a YouTube hit
91. Touch a pyramid in Egypt
92. Go fishing on a boat
    
93. Go completely organic
    
94. Finish reading Devil Wears Prada
95. Be in a movie
96. Rent a house at the beach
97. Own a copy of Dance in the City and Dance in the Country by Renoir
98. Buy two more pairs of Tom's shoes
99. Learn proper posture
100. Own an expensive piece of jewelry
101. Never make a list like this again. 101 things? Man it's harder then it looks.
     
     

Who am I part 2.

As some of you no doubt know I'm adopted. I was adopted at birth (within minutes of my first breath) and was raised by my parents William and Carolyn. As you can no doubly tell it's never been a secret in our family that I was adopted. My parents after struggling to have children were finally given the chance to be parents.

My birth was something of a whispered secret on the military base where I was born. My (birth) mother wasn't married to my father at the time and from what I later learned he was abusive. They were also of difference ethnic backgrounds. My mother decided that what would be best for everyone involved was to place me for adoption. My (adopted) parents doctor knew of my parents struggle and talked to them about adopting me. After some genetic testing to find out my dominate traits* the doctors decided to give me to my parents. My parents had about a week to prepare for their new bundle of joy and my mother went crazy baby shopping.

After my birth my parents went through the legal hoops to finalize the adoption. Since I was technically an Italian being adopted by Americans my fathers transfer out of Italy was a problem. I wasn't legally their kid so my birth mother had to fill out all kinds of papers to let me be taken from the country. The Italian government also requires 3 years of home studies before the adoption could be finalized. So after 3 years I was officially their kid.

Growing up I never thought anything of being adopted it was more a problem of my mixed background. People were confused when they saw us out and my mother remembers someone thinking she was my nanny. Over the years I wondered about my (birth) mother. If I had any siblings out there. My (adopted) mother is also adopted so she understood my need for answers. In my teen rebellion phase I uttered the one statement all adopted parents dread...you're not my real parents anyway and my mother and I have had our struggles. Friends mostly didn't care( the military breeds racism out of you) other then the random your parents don't look anything like you. Into my adult years co-workers were shocked to find out my parents were black (whole other kettle of fish). Dating in the south could be problematic, looking not black while having to explain my black adopted parents cut a few relationships short.

There are funny times like when well meaning sales people make the comment that I look just like my (adopted) mom. We say thanks and laugh about it later.

Overall I think being adopted opens your mind to the whole idea of love. That family isn't just blood. Family is whatever you make it, that friends can become like family. That you can be born into a family but can forge yours out of whatever you want.



* The genetic testing was because if I had white dominate traits I would have been given to a white family. There is this belief that minority children need to be raised by minorities. Even today it's hard for non blacks to adopt black children and vice versa.